For Country, For Love, For Right
by Lady Phaedra
Summary: Raised from childhood to become the model Nazi soldier when Gilbert's challenged to rethink his views, he beings to question everything. But as the Second Great War breaks out, he must decide what's important - family, his country, love, or what's right. Historically accurate, set in pre-WWII & WWII - Featuring Prussia, Germany, Hungary & Fem!Austria
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **I own nothing.  
>T for now, may up the rating later on.<p>

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><p>January 31, 1933<br>Hamburg, Germany

Red eyes slowly fluttering open, the thin albino boy gingerly woke up. The young teenager shivered lightly, pulling his dark Prussian-blue blanket tighter around his body as he glanced around his bedroom. It was empty, grey and generally dull.

Plopping back onto his bed, Gilbert closed his eyes for what seemed to be only a moment, but when he opened his eyes again, there were a pair of bright blue eyes staring back at him at the edge of his bed. "What is it, Ludwig?" he groaned sleepily, stretching up on his bed in a long yawn.

"It is 9 AM, Gilbert," Ludwig informed him matter-of-factly. For a thirteen-year-old, Ludwig could be a real buzz-kill. "You're lucky that we have school off this week or you have been late and I would have _let_ you be late," he continued bluntly.

"So I have school off," replied Gilbert, looking annoyed with his younger brother. "Why did you wake me then?"

Ludwig's mouth twitched wryly. "Check the papers and you'll see." With that statement, the neat blonde-haired boy pivoted on his heel and walked out of Gilbert's room in a span of three seconds. He already had the disciplined precision of a solider – Gott, despite his annoyance at being woken so earlier, Gilbert was still so proud of Ludwig for that.

Forcing himself to leave the comfortable security of his warm bed, the pale-haired boy dragged himself out of his bed. Gilbert groaned quietly in complaint as his bare feet hit the cold wooden floors and he hurried to find his shoes. After finding his shoes, plain black shoes for indoor usage, he ducked into the bathroom to wash his face, brush his teeth and comb his hair, before running down the stairs and entering the dining room.

Ludwig was already sitting at the table as Gilbert entered and he eyed Gilbert sardonically, a wry smile on his face, as their mother scolded Gilbert for waking up so late.

"Honestly Gilbert, all you do is lie around," she was lightly chiding him as she directed him to his seat. "You have to be more disciplined – like your little Bruder. And don't run down the stairs again either, Gilbert."

Gilbert responded as respectfully as he could, mindlessly mimicking how their father would usually respond whenever their mother was talking. "Yes, yes, of course dea- Mutter."

As Mutter placed his plate of warm eggs and sausage down in front of him, Gilbert snatched the paper from Ludwig. His red eyes flashed with excitement as they scanned the front title quickly: _Adolf Hitler zum Reichskanzler errant. Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor._

Looking up, he met the amused icy blue gaze of his younger brother as his own red eyes widened with astonishment. Still clutching the paper in one hand, he tried to scarf down his breakfast. It was delicious but Gilbert hardly tasted any of it in his rush. He was so excited - he had to share this news with someone.

Suddenly the paper was pulled out of his grip and a heavy, strong hand fell on his shoulder. "Don't eat so fast or you'll choke to death, son," his father warned him, looking down at him fondly. The tall graying blonde man was in a much better mood than usual this morning.

"Yes, father," agreed Gilbert obediently. His father wasn't a very warm man by nature and so Gilbert didn't want to antagonize him in any way and ruin his rare mood.

"I'm glad you boys are keeping up to date," their father praised them both after quickly scanning over the paper again. He handed them each a small sack of Reichsmark. "You two deserve it," he patted both of their heads. "Don't go spending it all in one place." Their family had always been wealthy but with how the economy was these days, even their family spent each Reichsmark carefully and so this was a rare treat.

"Thank you, father," the two boys chorused. Sharing a rare grin, the two boys raced out of the house, grabbing their jackets off the coat rack along the way, as their parents watched them run off in fond amusement.

"What are you going to do with your money?" Gilbert asked Ludwig with a nudge as the two boys ran down the stone steps together and out onto the quiet street.

"I don't know," admitted the younger boy. Ludwig was a careful spender, perhaps even more cautious than their father, but with fluctuate rates, it would be wise to spend the money now rather than save it in a jar at home. After a few moments of contemplation, he answered: "I think I will go to the book store. I have been meaning to read Mein Kampf for a while, I may as well buy it now rather than wait on that months-long waiting list at the library."

As much as Gilbert was a fan of Adolf Hitler, their most promising leader of the German people at the moment, he wasn't going to spend his unexpected windfall on some book. "Can I borrow it after you finish reading it?" Gilbert asked instead.

Ludwig nodded briefly.

"Thanks, Bruder." They walked for a few more steps until they stopped at the bookstore's entrance.

"Aren't you coming in?" Ludwig asked him when Ludwig entered past the threshold but Gilbert hadn't followed. Ludwig's hand rested lightly the doorknob as he waited patiently for Gilbert's response.

"Nein… I'm going to the bakery. They might still have some Bethmännchen left. And then I'll go to see Elizabeta after that. Don't worry! I'll save you some Bethmännchen!" Gilbert reassured his brother before he continued down the street.

Ludwig watched him for a few seconds before shrugging and pulling the door open and disappearing inside the bookstore.

Gilbert was lost in thought as he was left in silence. He was contemplating Germany's future idly as he entered the bakery, made his purchase and quickly left the bakery.

After the embarrassment they had suffered after the Great War at the hands of the Americans, English, French and Russians, followed by the long years of poverty and sickness and starvation, the German people were desperate to return to their former glory. Gilbert's family had been lucky to avoid the fates of many of their countrymen. His father had been a high-ranking military officer during the Great War and his mother had came from a large wealthy family – the combination of both kept their family out of financial trouble for the most part. Not many families could say the same.

Gilbert's heart was tight with national pride as the pale German boy walked briskly down the snow road, greyed by the gas emissions of the street vehicles. Gilbert was approaching the modest redbrick building where Elizabeta lived. He was eager to share the news of their nation's success with her.

However Gilbert also already knew that Elizabeta likely wouldn't be as excited about Hitler as Gilbert was, but he was hoping that she would at least be satisfied by this news. This was a good thing for Germany and Elizabeta wanted what was best for Germany just as much as he did, didn't she?

Knocking on the wooden door, he flashed his usual charming smirk at Mrs. Héderváry as the door slowly opened. "Is Elizabeta here, Mrs. Héderváry?" he asked her politely.

"She went to the city park just a ten minutes ago," her mother answered. She looked tired; there were faint dark rings under her green eyes. However she smiled kindly at Gilbert all the same, "I'm sure she'll be happy if you went to see her there."

"Okay, thank you." Gilbert had strutted off, his hands in his coat pocket.

It was another five minutes before Gilbert arrived at the snowy park, his excitement not waning even the slightest by the delay. Sure enough he soon spotted the familiar German-Hungarian girl sitting at the roots of a tree, facing away from him.

Smirking mischievously to himself, Gilbert had snuck around the edge of the tree, tapping lightly on her right shoulder and hiding behind the tree, as she looked up, startled. She would look over her shoulder while Gilbert would tap on her other. This went on for a few more turns until she finally caught him by the sleeve of his coat and had roughly dragged him down onto the ground, his face pressed against the cold snow.

The pale albino boy coughed, spitting out snow and glaring at Elizabeta. However he was still too excited with the news he had to even pretend to stay upset a little longer. "So violent, woman."

Her lips quirking up in a smile, she retorted, "You are so childish, Gilbert. Are you going to cry now?"

"I don't cry," corrected Gilbert. "_What _I am going to do is not share any of these Bethmännchen with you." He teased her, waving his warm bag of the German pastries in her face. Bethmännchen was a pastry generally reserved for Christmas but they were Gilbert's favorites and luckily the bakery still had some left over after Christmas.

"I don't really care," Elizabeta slouched back down again, looking sullen all of a sudden. "I've already lost my appetite."

Gilbert's face fell, conflicted with both concern for her and annoyance at her lack of excitement and sudden mood change. "Why?" He asked, plopping down heavily on the snow beside her. He took a hearty bite out of a Bethmännchen and held out another one to Elizabeta that she gingerly accepted.

"Hitler," she replied simply, before taking a fierce bite. "Father and Mother are worried about him and I have to agree with them."

"What? Why? Didn't you hear that President Paul von Hindenburg made him Chancellor last night?"

"Yes and I have," replied Elizabeta. "Why did you think I was so upset?"

"I don't know. Is it that time of the month?" shrugged Gilbert, only to receive a punch on the shoulder in retaliation. "Ow. That hurt, woman," he protested, rubbing his "injury".

Elizabeta ignored his protests. "Have you _actually _read his book?" Elizabeta asked him instead, eyeing Gilbert critically.

Gilbert shrugged, feigning nonchalance as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat under her sharp green gaze. "No. I guess not." He frowned, looking back at her. "Why do you have such a problem with him? Hitler's a good leader."

"The views he expressed in that book was deplorable," insisted Elizabeta. "He fabricated the most ridiculous lies and opinions on the Jews, Poles and the other non-Aryans." She hugged her knees to her body. "You don't _really _believe all of that do you?"

Gilbert scratched his neck uncomfortably. "No." He admitted finally. "I don't really believe in the whole superior Aryan race idea. Maybe Hitler's a bit overly passionate and vocal about his beliefs – nothing wrong about that. I just think he'd be good for Germany." He tried to reassure her, "That's all."

Elizabeta gave him a weak smile that looked forced. "…I'm glad you're not buying into that, Gilbert. But I'm worried you'll change your mind as time goes by. There are a lot of students at our school that already follows everything the Nazi party says blindly. But I guess there's still some hope."

She stood up, wrapping her dark green scarf tighter around her neck. "I'm going to go home now. But you should think harder about this. I'll see you tomorrow."

Gilbert watched as Elizabeta trudged away through the snow, as he sat alone at the base of the tree. His Bethmännchen pastries had gotten cold and he didn't feel like eating anymore. Ludwig would probably still want some though and he placed the bag back into his black coat. Gilbert didn't leave immediately however, he sank aside the base of the tree and stared out at the lake in quiet contemplation. His heart felt uneasy after taking this new information into account.

Gilbert couldn't honestly say that he condoned the racist treatment of Jews or other non-Aryans but at the same time, he still considered himself a member of the Nazi party – like his father, mother and brother.

He wanted so desperately to talk to someone about this, however if he mentioned this to his parents, they would only blame Elizabeta and if he tried to talk to Ludwig, his brother would be too stubborn in his beliefs to even try to offer unbiased advice. His brother, although Gilbert refused to admit it out loud, was their father's favorite for that very reason.

Frowning, his cheery mood dampen, he walked home in silence. His new sober mood a stark contrast to the excitement and hopefulness of the rest of the city as they were just waking up and reading the newspapers.

Passing the bookstore, he decided to peek inside through the window and Gilbert was surprised to see that Ludwig was still inside. The neat-haired blonde boy was sitting cross-legged as he read through the large volume.

Hesitantly Gilbert entered the book store, the bell jingling to signal another customer as he opened the door, however Ludwig didn't look up. Lingering at some of the open books on display, Gilbert finally made his way over to his younger brother.

"Hey. Why are you still here? You could have just brought the book and left you know," Gilbert informed him quietly. Despite his quiet voice, Ludwig almost jumped out of his seat, so caught up in his read that he hadn't noticed Gilbert's approach.

Quickly getting over his surprise, Ludwig set his book aside and peered up at Gilbert through sharp blue eyes. "What's wrong?" he demanded. "You're acting really quiet. What happened, Gilbert?"

"Nothing," Gilbert replied defensively. "Besides we're in a library, we're supposed to be quiet."

"We're in a _bookstore_," corrected Ludwig.

"Tomato, _tomato_," shrugged Gilbert.

"It's not tomato, _tomato_," shot back Ludwig. "And don't give me that excuse, you never cared about keeping your voice down in a library or a bookstore. Why bother now?"

Gilbert twitched. "I guess I have a lot on my mind, okay?" He scoffed, slowly giving in to Ludwig's questioning.

"What happened? What did Elizabeta say?" Ludwig demanded, closing his book shut with a loud clap. "Wait." His blue eyes darted around the store, Ludwig was extremely careful. "Tell me while we're walking."

Nodding slowly, Gilbert followed his younger brother to the counter as his purchase was ringed up. Together the two boys exited the bookstore and headed down the street together.

After a few minutes of walking, Gilbert finally spoke again. "Why couldn't I just tell you in the store? How did you even know it was because of her? I could have gotten mugged or something along the way, you know."

Ludwig sighed, looking almost concerned for Gilbert and ignoring his last part. "Whatever Elizabeta's reaction was to the news, I'm guessing it wasn't positive. I'm not saying that the Nazi party is… unjust, but I've been hearing rumors about what happen to people who publicly denounce them. I don't usually listen to rumors but… just be careful. The people connected to them aren't always much luckier either."

At Gilbert's horrified expression, he rolled his eyes. "You have to look beyond what the newspaper say to understand politics." Ludwig kicked at a loose chunk of snow as he prompted Gilbert, "Now tell me what she said."

Gilbert swallowed. He didn't want to get Elizabeta in trouble and despite Ludwig's insight; his brother remained fiercely loyal to the Nazi party. "Don't repeat what I tell you, alright?"

"Fine. I won't."

"Promise?"

"Yes, I _promise._" Ludwig rolled his eyes, which didn't do much to convince Gilbert. "Now just tell me."

"Elizabeta and her family don't support Hitler. They think his views on the Aryan race are… flawed."

"Is that it?" Ludwig appeared exasperated. "Of course they don't agree with him – Hungarians aren't Aryan."

"But _you _agree with Hitler?" probed Gilbert. "Do you really think that the Aryan race is the best?"

"Of course." Ludwig's answer was frank. "There's no need to be modest Gilbert," he spoke sardonically, a faint smirk on his face. "The Aryan race is the strongest physically, the most attractive and the most intelligent - obviously. The other races are just jealous and to disguise their inferiority they try to claim that all races are equal. But we all know they're just lying to themselves. Look at how they treated the blacks in America – and _now_ they're claiming that we're all equals? They're just _all_ below us." Ludwig sighed. "If you want to learn more Gilbert, you should just ask Father. Or at the Deutsches Jungvolk."

Ludwig was too young to join Hitler Youth, being only thirteen, so Deutsches Jungvolk - German Youth - was his only option at the moment. However Gilbert had just turned fourteen days before and had became eligible for the Hitler Youth. "I moved up, remember?"

Ludwig blinked, "Oh. That's right. Just ask one of the leaders there then."

The two brothers fell into silence and until they approached their house neither spoke again. As they walked up the steps together, and Ludwig unlocked the door. He looked over at Gilbert seriously, "If you do go there – don't even mention what we spoke about or what Elizabeta said to you – or we'll all get in serious trouble."

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><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Expect an update soon. I'm quite excited about this story - got it all planned out.  
>By the way, Austria's gender was changed so that Austria could fit a certain role I needed for the story. You'll see.<br>Leave a review, I do love critique on my works. c:


	2. Chapter 2

Still own nothing. Yay for me.

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><p>February 27, 1933<br>Hamburg, Germany

It had been almost a month since Adolf Hitler was appointed as Chancellor. The excitement had died down since, but the Nazi party's progress was still advancing fast. More members were joining everyday and their efforts to claim Germany were increasing at exponential rates.

At the Hitler Youth group, their leaders had become more demanding of the workload the members put into the group. Gilbert would have liked to ditch a few meetings, however his father was pushing him even harder than his Hitler Youth leaders were.

Today however, Gilbert was standing outside of the door, suitcases in hand. His brother and father were still inside the house while he waited impatiently outside the house for the company car to arrive.

That car was supposed to take them to the Hamburg Hauptbahnhof train station. From there they would board an eight-hour train ride to Berlin.

After the war, Father had gotten a government job and he had some business he needed to get done in Berlin. Instead of going alone as usual however, he had surprised both boys the night before at dinner where he had told them of his plans.

It was an exciting prospect and both Ludwig and Gilbert were looking forward to it – Gilbert had hardly been able to sleep after Father had sprung the news on them. However the vacation wouldn't be just for the three of them – Mr. Edelstein and his daughter Sophia would be meeting them at the luxury hotel, Hotel Adlon.

Mr. Edelstein was a former Austrian-Hungarian Officer from the Great War and had been a close friend of Father's during that time.

While their father worked Tuesday and Wednesday, Mr. Edelstein would be taking the three children on a sightseeing trip around Berlin. On their last day Thursday, they would all visit the Reichstag building together. Then on Friday, they would all board their separate trains and say their farewells.

The taps of purposeful footsteps on the pavement jolted Gilbert out of his contemplation and he turned on his heel, facing the almost empty road.

"Going somewhere?" Elizabeta was standing at the bottom of the stone steps, a brown eyebrow arched as she took in the sight of his baggage. Her hands were both stuffed in the pockets of her red jacket and her long brown hair streamed past her shoulders starting from her charming white beanie.

"Berlin." Gilbert hoped down the steps. "Father and Ludwig are still inside. I was waiting for the car. We're going to the train station and we'll board a train to Berlin from there."

Elizabeta nodded with growing interest. "What's in Berlin?" she asked him, green eyes narrowed in contemplation. Neither Gilbert nor Elizabeta had ever left Hamburg before – at least not at a time they could remember.

"Father's meeting with an old friend from the war. Apparently he's from Austria so this is kind of a special occasion. His daughter, Sophia will be coming with us too." Gilbert informed her. "We'll be back by Friday afternoon."

"Hmm. Sounds like fun." She pursed her lips. It seemed like she was going to say more when suddenly her green eyes darted to the area above Gilbert's shoulder.

The door opened just as Gilbert turned, glancing over his shoulder, at Ludwig and Father emergence at the door. The father and son appeared almost identical as they shared the same disapproving expression.

"I should be going now," Elizabeta spoke quickly, her hands sliding in her pockets. "I'll see you around." Her expression turned cold as her gaze briefly traveled across Gilbert's father and brother.

As she disappeared around the street corner, Father and Ludwig made their way down the steps.

"I don't want to see you talking to her again, do you understand, Gilbert?" Father reprimanded him sternly as he passed Gilbert. His lips curled into a faint sneer as he stared at the corner Elizabeta had disappeared behind.

"…" Gilbert gritted his teeth, his red eyes turning an accusing glare on Ludwig who only coolly gazed back. "Yes Father." There was no point in verbally defying him.

The three of them waited by the sidewalk for a tense three minutes when the sleek black government car appeared. Father sat in the front seat next to the driver, while Gilbert and Ludwig piled in on the back seat. They waited quietly in the car as the driver; a stoic grey-haired man in a black driver's uniform set their luggage in the back trunk.

Gilbert only spoke again when the car started moving. "Why did you tell Father about her?" he hissed into Ludwig's ear. "You said it yourself that we shouldn't mention it again!"

Ludwig glared back at Gilbert, swatting at him dismissively with a hand. "I didn't tell him anything. Besides Father already deals with _these_ sorts of things so he knows which families are the ones that might cause trouble." He whispered back fiercely, "Besides, Father shouldn't be kept ignorant. I know you two are friends, but she'll just drag you down."

Gilbert scowled darkly, "I don't care. Just stay out of my business." He sighed heavily in annoyance as he turned his back on his brother.

The rest of the car ride was spent in tense silence, occasionally interrupted by one of their father's comments. When the car finally stopped at the front of the train station, the trio gathered their luggage and headed into the station.

Gilbert trotted after his father, his red gaze travelling around the station. His anger was slowly being forgotten as he admired the large spacious train station. For some it was just a train station but for someone about to experience their first train ride, it was a profound experience.

There were many people already in the station despite the early hour, there were vendors scattered across the hall and people sitting in the benches as they waited for their trains to arrive.

Gilbert really wouldn't have minded exploring more of the train station however their train was leaving in ten minutes and they only stopped for Father to purchase a magazine. They arrived at the entrance rail with only two minutes to spare.

Gilbert hovered uncertainly at the entrance, looking up at the large sleek black train. It was quite an intimidating sight however he was pushed into action with an impatient nudge from his father.

The interior of the train was quite impressive, Gilbert's awe only growing as they passed through several train cars. The floors were covered with brilliant red velvety carpet and the walls were painted a classy cream color that reflected the light brilliantly.

Gilbert and Ludwig both shared an awed expression as they walked down the aisle, however their father seemed unimpressed by the car's posh interiors as he prodded them along with a nudge from his suitcase until they finally found their seats.

This train car seemed relatively empty, at the moment there was only a broad-shouldered man wearing a brown hat sitting in one of the booths further down the aisle.

Father stopped them at the first row however.

"Are all of the cars like this?" Gilbert asked as he slid into the seat of the booth after Ludwig. The platinum blonde shuffled in his seat, sinking into the red cushions, feeling light as a feather. He picked up a tall empty glass, examining it curiously. Gilbert couldn't very well distinguish between glass and crystal, but he was certain this was crystal.

"This is a luxury train," his father answered, glancing around their car through narrowed blue eyes. An elderly couple wearing expensive furs sat down in the booth across the train car from them.

"All the cars in this train are like this. My department pays for my business trips, with the economy how it is – although it's quickly improving with Hitler," Father added hastily. " – Not many people can afford such luxuries and I wouldn't go nearly as often if it wasn't for the fact that the department paid for the tickets."

A silence fell over the booth and the conversation ended with Father pulling out the magazine he had brought. Ludwig quickly followed suit by pulling out his copy of Mein Kampf from his plain brown suitcase.

Gilbert was left sitting in silence with his brother and his father with both their noses in their reading, as the train moved into motion. It was a strange rush and Gilbert clutched at the edges of the table until he got used to the sensation. The novelty quickly wore off and Gilbert was feeling restless.

Tapping his right foot, he glanced around their train car, his gaze falling on their nearest fellow passengers. The elderly couple was quietly conversing and after a few moments of watching Gilbert quickly got bored and pulled his attention away.

"I'm hungry," he informed his father plaintively. "You said there was a buffet car."

His father peered over the magazine at him, "There is a breakfast buffet. Just go down the next two cars."

"Okay." Gilbert stood up from his table. Gilbert was genuinely hungry but now was a good chance to explore the other cars of the train. He could certainly put off eating in favor of entertainment.

"Get me something too," Ludwig spoke up without glancing up from his book. "Thanks."

"Fine," Gilbert sighed heavily, although he really didn't mind. "Father, did you want something?" he asked, a mild touch of hopefulness in his voice.

"Just black coffee, Gilbert," his father answered curtly, his eyes already returning to his magazine.

Mouth tightly pursed at his father's dismissive tone, Gilbert slid out from the booth and walked to the next car. The breakfast buffet wasn't located in this one but there were more people in this train car compared the car he was originally in. However there were only two booths that stood out to Gilbert from among the others.

On the right side of the car there were two young children. The older of the two was a choppy-cut blonde-haired boy who looked younger than Ludwig, but incredibly off-putting despite his youth. He wore a deep-set scowl that seemed to warn Gilbert from getting too close.

The other child was a blonde-haired toddler with all dimples and large green eyes. She stared at him through wide green eyes.

Gilbert didn't feel much inclination to approach those two however and he broke eye contact with the scowling boy. Frowning faintly, he turned to eyed the other occupant that had caught his interest appraisingly.

The occupant on the left booth was a boy with almond-shaped green eyes who gazed back coolly at Gilbert. He had chin-length blonde hair and a smirk that echoed Gilbert's own. His relaxed posture oozed confidence and although he was quite petite in build, he seemed to take up a large amount of space on his booth.

Intrigued by his peculiar swagger, Gilbert simply had to approach him. Striding confidently over to the other boy's booth, Gilbert held his green gaze confidently, smirking. "Is someone sitting here?" Gilbert sat down anyways without waiting for his answer.

Strangely as soon as Gilbert had approached him, the other boy's smirk instantly disappeared and he looked uncomfortable, his gaze dropping to Gilbert's shoulder. "Nein," he answered slowly, a strong Polish accent to his voice.

Feeling uncomfortable now as well, Gilbert was worried that he had overstepped some sort of boundaries. Were the Polish really that easy to offend? He had no idea.

"I'm Gilbert Beilschmidt," he introduced himself, his smirk twitching as he struggled to retain his confidence. "I was sitting in the train car ahead of yours, but I got bored..."

"…Feliks Łukasiewicz," the other boy introduced himself, his green gaze slowly meeting Gilbert's.

Feliks didn't say anything more and it was Gilbert's turn to talk again. "So are you from Poland?" Gilbert asked him curiously. "Your accent," he added as an explanation.

"Yeah, I'm Polish." Feliks nodded in confirmation. Looking hesitant, Feliks slowly added, "I'm travelling to go stay with my grandparents in Berlin."

_Progress._ Gilbert smirked, "I'm going to Berlin too, I'm going with my brother and my father. I live in Hamburg, and this is the first time I've left Hamburg."

Then Gilbert realized something. "If you're from Poland and you're going to Berlin, then how did you end up in Hamburg? You would have had went right past Berlin."

Feliks grimaced, and his lips pursed carefully. He seemed reluctant to answer but he finally did. "My parents both died a few years ago. After that, I went to live with my uncle in Bremerhaven, but now I'm going to stay with my grandparents. They're both pretty wealthy so after my uncle decided he couldn't handle me anymore, they were the only ones left."

_Oh. _Feeling awkward, Gilbert tried to change the topic. "What was Poland like, Feliks?"

"It's a really nice country," Feliks answered earnestly, probably just as eager as Gilbert to move on to another topic. "We have some pretty cold winters, but our summers are pretty warm so it's all good." His green eyes were glowing as he talked about Poland.

"Maybe I'd go visit Poland one day," commented Gilbert lightly. "It sounds like a really awesome place to visit."

"You simply must."

Suddenly the other two children from the other booth stood up in perfect unison and slid out of their booth. The boy glanced coolly at them as he passed. The two children disappeared into the next train – the buffet train.

"That reminds me," Gilbert drawled, standing up. "I was supposed to get something from the buffet for my brother and my father." He was walking away when Feliks suddenly grabbed hold of his sleeve.

"Feliks?" Gilbert turned, blinking curiously at the Polish boy. "What?"

"I'm hungry too." Feliks informed him, his voice more confident now. "I'll go with you."

"Sure okay," Gilbert shrugged, subtly trying to pull his sleeve away but Feliks' grip was too tight. Feeling slightly uncomfortable with Feliks' sudden clinginess but also amused, Gilbert shuffled down the aisle and entered the next train car.

The siblings from earlier were standing at the buffet table, the boy piling food on their plates and the younger girl clutching at the hem of her brother's forest-green shirt.

"Hey." Gilbert blinked.

The boy tensed. No response. But to Gilbert's own surprise, he nodded curtly and quickly exited the dining car, his sister following closely.

"Weird people," noted Gilbert out loud as he and Feliks split along the sides of the buffet table.

"I _know_ right?" Feliks seemed to have gotten over _all_ of his reservations, whatever they were, about Gilbert.

Feliks had been deathly shy of Gilbert at first but after a few sentences exchanged, he had gotten quite comfortable with Gilbert's presence. It was a quite a surprising and quick transition. Not that Gilbert was complaining of course. Less work.

"I had tried talking to them before you came, but that guy just glared at me," the shorter boy complained.

"_You _tried talking to them?" Gilbert arched an eyebrow, smirking unbelievingly. Feliks had acted completely nonchalant, arrogant even when Gilbert had first approached him. But as soon Gilbert started talking, he had tensed, looking poised to sprint away at a moment's notice.

"Fine," scoffed Feliks, stabbing a sausage through with his fork. "I didn't actually talk to them. I mean – I might have but that guy looked like he might bite my head off. Like for serious."

His way of talking was a bit strange, but Gilbert liked it. Feliks seemed like he might be a fun guy. "So what were you doing before I saved you from awkward silent death alone?"

"Exactly just that," said Feliks, waving a fork that had speared through a sausage. "You ready?" Feliks seemed anxious.

"Ja." Gilbert nodded, following Feliks out of the buffet car. He was surprised when Feliks sat down in his booth and tried to tug Gilbert down. "You know you can just sit with me and my brother and father, right?"

Feliks grimaced, his complexion turning pale. "It'll be so awkward," he half-whined, half-pleaded.

Gilbert snorted in laughter, "Seriously?" He set his own plate down on the table but kept his brother's plate and his father's cup. "I'll deliver this to them and then I'll come right back, okay?"

"Fine, but hurry," huffed Feliks, his shoulders slumping in faint relief. "Don't keep me waiting!" his voice warned Gilbert as Gilbert was walking away.

…

Gilbert had returned and the two boys had remained inseparable during the rest of the train ride. When the train had reached their destinations, both boys were sorry to say goodbye and had exchanged addresses so they could keep in touch.

After they had left the train and Feliks had left with his grandfather, Ludwig had returned to Gilbert's side. "Who was that guy?" he whispered, eyeing the retreating figure of Feliks critically.

"Feliks-something. He's Polish and we hung out during the train ride." Gilbert answered, somewhat pointedly.

"Are you angry with me?" Ludwig looked bewildered.

"No." Gilbert blinked. "Just don't do that."

"Do _what_, Gilbert?" A sigh of exasperation.

"I know that look on your face. There's nothing wrong with him – he's a cool guy. You're always nitpicking on my friends. Geez, Ludwig."

Maybe their little argument would have continued but at that moment, Father nudged both of them impatiently. He shot a meaningful glance at them, immediately inspiring both boys to stand tall and instantly drop their conversation.

A tall Austrian man with glasses and an aristocrat demeanor was approaching them. Despite his composed appearance, he broke out in a crooked smile as he stopped in front of them.

Behind him was a petite dark brunette girl with cool violet eyes. She strongly resembled her father in physical appearance, however she was _very _feminine. She didn't smile either; instead she remained composed and distant, although she kept eye contact with Gilbert as their fathers greeted one another warmly.

Gilbert finally was forced to pull his gaze away when his father laid a hand on his shoulder. "Be polite Gilbert. Go say hello to Sophia," his father instructed him, an expectant gleam in his blue eyes.

Feeling strangely pressured, Gilbert nodded to his father obediently before looking back at Sophia. Licking his lips quickly, Gilbert took a step forward as Sophia did the same, which had them standing only a few inches apart.

"Hey. I'm Gilbert Beilschmidt." He introduced himself with a smirk as he reached his right hand out to shake hers.

"I'm Sophia Edelstein," she introduced herself with a tentative smile. "It's very nice to meet you, Gilbert Beilschmidt."

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><p>I have some days off this week so I'll try to write a lot in the meantime.<p>

Love it if you'd leave a review.


	3. Chapter 3

February 27, 1933  
>Berlin, Germany<p>

Marinus van der Lubbe. Former brick-layer-turned-Commie, hailing from Holland. Desperate, poor and uneducated – he had been easily swayed by the lure of Communism and his devotion to the cause and physical strength had made him the prime candidate for this most difficult of tasks.

The young Dutch man was standing in an dingy brown alleyway, peering through a barbed metal wire fence at the Reichstag building, far off in the distance.

His mouth was curled in a sneer – disgust for the Nazi party. His eyes were dark with dark determination and intentions.

He would have liked to go ahead with the plan immediately but his strict instructions were to wait until nightfall. He would have backup then, the Reichstag security would have loosened and he would have the cover of the night to protect him. Despite his impatience, his devotion promised he would follow the plan to the very last detail.

Playing absentmindedly with his weapon of choice, it slipped out from inside his pocket before being yanked back in. Matches. It didn't seem like much really, but with those matches Marinusvan der Lubbe was about to leave his mark in history.

Oh yes, he was.

…

"Don't bother unpacking," Father instructed them, laying down his suitcase on his bed. "You'll have time to do that later." He quickly whipped out his pocket watch, checking the time with a clean efficiency, before stepping away from the bed and opening the door. "I will wait for you two outside – do not keep us waiting very long," he warned them before closing the door.

"I'm going to the bathroom before we leave," Ludwig turned to Gilbert, looking matter-of-factly. "Wait for me in the room!" he demanded as he disappeared into the bathroom.

Gilbert huffed impatiently, but was loyal enough to his brother (to an extent) and remained in the room. His red eyes were narrowed as he surveyed the hotel room with a faint interest.

The room was just as nice as the train cars had been. The walls of the room were covered in dark rich red wallpaper sliced by golden stripes running down from the ceilings to the stark white baseboards. The golden wooden floors were covered in tasteful patterned oriental rugs. There was a dark wooden vanity desk standing across the room from the beds and a closet door was placed right beside it. There was a long stretch of windows on the right side of the beds, closest to the dark blue bed that Gilbert and Ludwig would have to share.

From his seat on the soft mattress, Gilbert could see the pale outlines of a white building far out in the distance. Genuinely intrigued, Gilbert slowly approached the windows.

Situated quite a distance away from the hotel, but in perfect view, there stood a large magnificent building in all its glory. Gilbert immediately recognized this as the Reichstag building.

His gaze traveled to the area around the building, recognizing such features such as The Königsplatz (The Square of the King) where the people would gather and the Victory Column that stood in between the building and the hotel. Father had promised to take them to see the German Parliament house that Friday.

Gilbert really would have liked to go see the Reichstag building immediately – he wasn't usually very impressed by architecture – however in his mind, Gilbert was already envisioning his own version of the Reichstag's interior.

White marble floors, glass chandeliers, and sleek staircases –

However Gilbert knew the Reichstag wasn't going to disappear if he didn't _immediately _go see it and his mind reluctantly wandered onto other things. Such as the pretty dress Sophia had been wearing when she and her father had been there to greet them at the train station.

At that moment, Ludwig finished in the bathroom and the two boys left the hotel room together.

"There you two are," their father said, frowning despite the fact that he couldn't have been waiting for longer than three minutes. "Let's go to the restaurant – you said it was just around the corner?" the last part directed to Mr. Edelstein.

"That is correct," the Austrian man replied as the two men began walking down the hallway and into the elevator.

Ludwig, Gilbert and Sophia all followed quietly and spent the rest of the elevator ride in silence, listening to their fathers' exchange.

As they filed out of the elevator and were exiting the hotel, Gilbert had finally summoned his nerve to address Sophia. Usually it was no big deal for Gilbert to talk to girls – demonstrated by his casual banter with Elizabeta and the other girls at their school – however it should have been obvious by this point why Gilbert was even feeling so shy all of a sudden in the first place.

"I really like your dress," he finally complimented as they were walking on the sidewalks. "It matches your eyes."

Sophia smiled shyly, oblivious to Ludwig who was rolling his eyes behind her back. "Thank you – I actually made it myself," she revealed, lightly tugging on the hem of her purple and white dress.

"Really? You're obviously very talented," Gilbert continued, smirking in which he thought was a charming manner, his anxiety ebbing away fast. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, subtly moving closer to Sophia.

Ludwig must have felt left out because he suddenly spoke up, "So Sophia. What's Austria like?" He wasn't smiling, but his voice was polite.

"Oh Austria's beautiful. I live in Vienna actually – it's one of the most beautiful cities in Austria as well as the capital."

As Sophia spoke about her home, Gilbert listened intently although his eyes wandered elsewhere.

Berlin was a big and busy city, and there were all sorts of people – from the poor who were distinctive by their shabby clothes, disheveled appearances and the timid way they carried themselves, clinging to the edges of the sidewalks in stark contrast to the powerful businessmen and politicians of Berlin who walked briskly along the sidewalks and in the dead center, clutching large briefcases in glove-encased hands.

Despite the fact that this was supposedly the quietest part of Berlin, there were still many people on the sidewalks and a few cars here and there.

Gilbert even thought he saw Feliks, from the other side of the road, although Gilbert couldn't be sure. The blonde boy he saw didn't turn so Gilbert didn't get the chance to see his face. He supposed it wouldn't have mattered; Father would have been annoyed if they had to stop even for a short moment.

"- Gilbert?"

At the sound of Sophia's gentle accented voice, Gilbert snapped back to attention, unaware that he had gotten distracted. "Er, yes? Sorry I was captivated by the beauty of Berlin," he drawled, his incredibly cheesy response seemed to satisfy Sophia although Ludwig gave him a funny look.

"I was _just _asking you if you thought Hamburg was anything like Berlin," repeated Sophia, smiling at Gilbert. "Berlin's the first German city we've stopped in so I have no real reference. Berlin's a lot liked some of the big cities in Austria though."

"Oh well –" Gilbert paused to pull open the door for Sophia when they reached the upscale restaurant. "Hamburg's a pretty big city, but obviously it's not as big as Berlin. I don't know – I always thought it was a quiet place, but maybe that's because I never really left Hamburg before. You should visit Hamburg sometime. We could go to the cinema together."

They fell into a hush as they walked over to the restaurant hostess. The smell of warm, delicious foods and delicacies invaded their senses.

"The Edelstein party," Mr. Edelstein drawled to the restaurant hostess – a plump and short man with thin dark hair and sporting the toothbrush mustache, made even more popular by Hitler.

"Right this way, Herr Edelstein," the hostess motioned with a sausage finger for them to follow. He spoke in a polite voice but oily voice that severely clashed with his stiff walk, that he had clearly stolen from Adolf Hitler. It was strange to see the effect the new Chancellor was having on the German people.

As much as Gilbert still respected Hitler – Elizabeta's words had opened his eyes, but he still felt some loyalty to his party – he found the hostess a very silly man. His voice dropping to a whisper, Gilbert leaned close to Sophia's ear, "And to your front, you'll find a common breed nowadays in Germany, a real-live Hitler-wanna-be!" His whisper turned to a mutter, "Although if he was really _that _dedicated, he would make the effort to drop a few pounds."

She was giggling even as she protested quietly, "Gilbert! You should hope that he didn't hear you – unless of course, you enjoy eating food that was spit on."

The pair was giggling quietly together as they were led into the dining room, drawing an exasperated look from Ludwig, who was evidently uncomfortable, and curious looks from their fathers.

When the hostess had left – after giving them all menus and promising to return for their orders – Mr. Edelstein spoke up, his voice, pleased. "You two are certainly getting along. I'm glad to see that. I admit I was worried that because you're so young, you might not be interested in making friends."

"Sophia is a very well-raised young lady, Mr. Edelstein," chirped Gilbert. "It would have been more of a surprise if we _hadn't _gotten along so well."

Ludwig shot Gilbert a: _'You're really laying it on thick there, buddy'_ look. Their father appeared equally unimpressed but Mr. Edelstein only laughed.

"You're a bright young man, Gilbert," he said. "But less is more," he winked knowingly before returning his attention to his menu.

The party settled into a comfortable silence, interrupted by the occasional murmurings, everyone was preoccupied with figuring out what to order.

Gilbert had decided on his selections relatively quickly. He blinked, setting down his menu and glancing around his table. Ludwig seemed torn between ordering something new, but perhaps too adventurous and what was familiar. Sophia was quietly whispering to her father, trying to get his attention and like Gilbert, his own father seemed to have already made up his mind.

Growing bored of simply staring at the table members, Gilbert allowed his gaze to travel around the restaurant. The tables were all draped by a white clothe and each white table held a single white candle. The restaurant was fairly filled, however it was relatively quiet, the murmurings of the restaurant blending sweetly with the soft classical music playing from the restaurant's pianist.

Gilbert's red gaze eventually fell on a broad-shouldered middle-aged man with dark hair. Gilbert thought he recognized the man's face from the newspaper however he couldn't match a name to the face.

Father noticed him too and said quietly, "Gilbert – that man is Dr. Ernst Hanfstaengl. He's a prominent Nazi member." Father's gaze was a chilly impassive blue stare.

Uneasy, with his father's lack of respect for his fellow party member, Gilbert hastily looked elsewhere just as the Dr. Hanfstaengl met his gaze. He felt dark eyes boring into him, but Gilbert simply and uncomfortably looked elsewhere until the eyes moved away. Gilbert would remain painfully aware of his presence for the rest of dinner.

Mr. Edelstein began to signal the hostess over.

"Are you ready to order, Herr Edelstein?" the hostess drawled, setting down a plate of flaky crispy golden pastry twists. "Here are Crisp Caraway Twists – they are complimentary for one of our most loyal customer."

"Thank you," replied Mr. Edelstein. "My guests shall order first," Mr. Edelstein said graciously, smiling at them. The dark-haired Austrian man reached for his napkin and placed it in his lap as Father and Ludwig began ordering, prompting Gilbert to do the same.

When the round got to Gilbert, he quickly rescanned his menu before answering, "I'd like… the Potato Soup with Sausages. For my entrée, I'd like the Beef Rouladen."

"Of course," said the hostess, quickly scribbling down the order. When Sophia and Mr. Edelstein finished ordering, the hostess informed them, "After the main dishes are served, I'll come back to take your orders for your salads and deserts." He bowed his head slightly before leaving the table.

"Edelstein," the elder Beilschmidt spoke when the hostess was out of earshot. "Perhaps this summer when Sophia's boarding school lets out for the summer, she could come stay in Hamburg with our family for a duration." His voice lowered, "I know that with your wife gone and you always travelling for business, Sophia's usually alone during the summers. This could be good for her."

Truthfully Gilbert was shocked by his father's offer and he saw his own surprise reflected in Mr. Edelstein, Sophia and Ludwig's faces.

"It'll be entirely proper, of course – "

"Of course, I trust that you would reinforce your word if needed," interrupted Mr. Edelstein. "You and I go a long way back, and I trust your word completely. However I don't want Sophia or your family to feel uncomfortable by this arrangement." The two men seemed to have forgotten about their children's presences.

"Of course not – it was just an offer." Gilbert's father smiled, an attempt to ease his friend. "I am not trying to pressure you or your daughter. I just thought it might be a good way to acclimate Sophia."

Thoughtful Mr. Edelstein was the first to take notice of the children's awkwardness and embarrassment – or perhaps he used them as an excuse? "Perhaps we should discuss later," he said civilly, nodding knowingly towards them. "For now –" he smiled. "Let's just enjoy dinner and talk about our plans."

When Mr. Edelstein glanced back at Father, the other man nodded silently, retreating back to his quiet and calm demeanor.

"So, Gilbert," Mr. Edelstein smiled at Gilbert as he delicately plucked one of the pastry twists from the basket. "Do you have any plans for after you finish school? Now might be a good time to be planning ahead."

Gilbert took a pastry twist himself, although he used it more as a prop to talk than anything else. "Well. Mr. Edelstein, I haven't really given it much thought," he admitted casually, slightly waving the pastry twist. "Maybe I'd work in a government job like my father."

What Gilbert didn't admit was that he hardly knew what his father's job actually entailed – he never actually made a point of finding out and his father's evasive character didn't help to encourage him. "Maybe I could work in business," he added thoughtfully before biting into his pastry. Really, even those vague ideas sounded incredibly boring to Gilbert.

"Both sound like fine options," Mr. Edelstein nodded politely. "How about you, Ludwig?" he turned to Gilbert's younger brother, smiling encouraging. "Have you given any thought on a future career?"

Ludwig leaned in closer, a rare spark of excitement appearing in his bright blue eyes. Ludwig was extremely goal-orientated and despite his youth, he had given a century's worth of thoughts in a potential future career, especially when compared to Gilbert.

"I've been thinking about this for a long while now, Mr. Edelstein," Ludwig admitted, a hint of a smile on his face. While most children got excited by the prospect of getting candy or toys, Ludwig only ever got excited about the Nazi party or when he was asked about the future he had planned out for himself.

"There are many things I'd like to do. First, I plan on attending the Technical University of Berlin…"

For someone who was so quiet, Ludwig didn't shut up for the rest of the meal. Listening idly, Gilbert ate his meal in silence, occasionally commenting once or twice. Sometime during the conversation, Gilbert had noticed the hostess approach Dr. Ernst and whispered something in his ear.

Dr. Ernst immediately stood out, his chair scrapping loudly against the wooden floor. He was indifferent to the hostess's annoyance at the treatment of the wooden floor, instead slapping money onto the table before walking out of the restaurant swiftly and purposefully.

It was very strange, but eventually Gilbert put it out of his mind.

"How was the restaurant?" Mr. Edelstein asked as they were all getting their jackets and coats from the coatroom. "If you really like this place, perhaps we can eat here again another time."

"It was a nice restaurant," nodded Ludwig, followed by a quiet chorus of agreements from Gilbert and Sophia. "I recognized a lot of prominent faces from the Nazi party. Does Herr Hitler ever eat at that restaurant?"

There was a wistful gleam in his eyes, leading Gilbert to suspect that for Ludwig, it would have been the greatest honor to have even shared the same spoon Hitler used. It was frankly uncomfortable – how far Ludwig's devotion might possibly stretch.

"Yes, he does," Mr. Edelstein was nodding at Ludwig, looking vaguely amused. His daughter was holding onto his coat-cladded arm. "I saw him once – I didn't approach him though, but I saw him."

After returning to the hotel, Gilbert had already removed his coat, as they were moving up the elevator. Satisfied and tired, Gilbert was more than ready to go to sleep.

They walked down the hall together until they stopped at the end, where their rooms were situated right across the hall from one another. They said their goodnights and then headed off to their respective rooms.

Gilbert was determined to get to the bathroom first but Ludwig must have sensed his evil intent because his brother had suddenly shoved him, making a mad dash for the bathroom.

Slightly grumpy, Gilbert waited directly outside the bathroom. When Gilbert heard the shower turn on however, he quickly realized Ludwig was planning on taking his time.

Huffing, Gilbert walked towards their bed and sat down with a plop. He had just blinked but when his eyes refocused, he found himself staring straight at a burst of flames in the distance.

Suddenly fully awake, Gilbert jerked out of the bed, barely drawing a glance from his father. Gilbert was by the glass window in a flash, his pale eyebrows furrowing.

With growing horror, Gilbert recognized the source of the fire. "Father!"

_Now_ his father was looking and the older Beilschmidt squinted, standing up and slowly walking over to Gilbert. "What is it, Gilbert?" Father seemed vaguely annoyed. He stilled when he saw the growing fire however.

"The Reichstag Building… It's burning."

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> I've been very busy with exams coming up, but I'll try to get another chapter uploaded soon. Thanksgiving's break's coming up fast so I'll get a chance to write then too c;

I'm always looking for a constructive criticism, I'd be grateful if you left a review.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** I plan on making the chapters longer starting with this chapter. This one's longer by around 2,000 words. Let me know if that's preferred. By the by, I would like to thank Sigmatic as well an anonymous guest for reviewing my story. It's a little late I'm sorry.

* * *

><p>February 27, 1933<br>Berlin, Germany

In a whirl of black fabric, his father had slid into his coat and had pulled the door open. "I'm going to alert Mr. Edelstein and then we're going to the Reichstag building." He paused only to give Gilbert a warning glance. "Stay here."

With that, the door closed shut.

Gilbert stared at the door for a few moments before he turned back to the window, a low noise of protest coming from his throat. Gilbert resented staying in the room the entire time while his father went to check out the fire but his father had given him a direct order and Gilbert knew there would be serious consequences if he disobeyed his father. However even the potential punishment for if he got caught wasn't enough to deter Gilbert.

"Ludwig!" he called out, pounding on the bathroom door. To his surprise, the bathroom door opened only three knocks in.

"_What_ is it, Gilbert?" Ludwig had the door cracked open in just the slightest, but the humidity of the bathroom was already seeping out through the crack and Gilbert could see that Ludwig was wrapped in the hotel's issued white towel and his blonde hair was damp – it looked like he had just stepped out of the shower. "Where's Father?"

"The Reichstag building's been set on fire," Gilbert quickly relayed the information. "Father's went to check it out but he said that we should stay in the room. Obviously, I'm not going to do that – " _Duh. _"But I need you to cover for me if he asks."

"What? Gilbert, no way! Berlin's dangerous at night, you can't just be walking around the city alone at night," Ludwig warned him sternly. "Besides – Father would kill me if I just let you walk out that door."

"I _won't_ be alone," Gilbert spoke up. "I'm asking Sophia to go with me. _Besides_ – you were in the shower the whole time, you had no idea what was going on, use _that_ as an excuse."

"Gilbert," growled Ludwig, the crack slowly growing wider. "You can't just drag Sophia out into the streets with you. It's not safe for either of you. Mr. Edelstein would never let you. And honestly, I wouldn't let you either."

"I won't force her to come with me," sneered Gilbert, rolling his eyes. "She has a say, you know. Besides, I'm pretty sure that Mr. Edelstein has already left with Father. As long as we get back to the hotel before they do, they'll have no idea we left in the first place."

"Unless of course, I _tell_ them," his brother pointed out threateningly, arms crossed.

His annoyance growing, Gilbert decided to try another approach. "Ludwig," Gilbert spoke slowly, trying to be patient and drawing a suspicious look from Ludwig at his change in tone. "The Reichstag Building is at the heart of Germany and it houses the Parliament. There's no way this fire could have been an accident – this was an attack on Germany! Are you seriously just going to take a shower while we're under attack?!"

Ludwig's resolve was weakening. Gilbert could see it in his face.

"Listen – Ludwig, history is being made right this second," Gilbert's conviction grew stronger. "And I won't be standing by idly while it passes us right on by," his voice turned scornful as he turned his back on his brother. He reached for the doorknob, "I'm leaving now, whether you like it or not."

"Wait."

Gilbert paused, peering over his shoulder at Ludwig.

There were many conflicting emotions passing across Ludwig's face and he was clearly torn between what he _wanted_ to do and what he thought he _should_ do, but Gilbert knew that he had the upper hand now.

"… At least just let me go with you – I can still tell on you when Father came back but what good would that do if you two got hurt? I can't let you get yourself and Sophia mugged," Ludwig sighed resignedly. "Go get Sophia – I'll change into my street clothes and I'll meet you in the hallway."

"Got it." Gilbert grabbed his dark blue coat before he ducked out into the red hallway. He paused, the hallway was empty and the Edelstein's hotel door was shut closed. He was going to just hope that the two men had already left, otherwise there would be no hiding his intentions to Father.

Crossing over to the other side of the hallway, he knocked on the Edelstein's hotel room door impatiently.

The door opened revealing Sophia's pale face. She hadn't changed out of her clothes yet, a convenient coincidence she hadn't realized yet. "Oh hello, Gilbert. Why are you here?"

"Did your father leave with my father?" Gilbert asked first, subtly trying to look past her and into the hotel room.

"Yes, they left a few minutes ago." Her brown eyebrows furrowed. "They sure left in a hurry – was there a fire or something?" Sophia's lips pressed together, clearly she hadn't been told much and she clearly didn't appreciate being kept in the dark.

"Yeah. The Reichstag building's on fire," Gilbert informed her briefly. "Truthfully, I don't know much more than that. I only saw the fire from the window," he admitted with a shrug. "But Ludwig and I are going to check it out – do you want to come with us?"

Sophia blinked. "My father told me to stay in the room. Gilbert, didn't your father tell you the same?"

"Yeah he did," admitted Gilbert somewhat reluctantly. "But I don't care, I have to see what happened. If we can get back to the hotel before they do, they'll never find out," he assured her. "C'mon, Sophia, don't you want to come with us?"

She was clearly a rule-follower like Ludwig was however she was much more susceptible to Gilbert's pressuring than Ludwig ever was. "Fine – okay," she agreed, looking nervous as she grabbed a dark violet coat from the coat rack beside the door.

Sophia stepped out into the hallway, dangling her room key in front of Gilbert as she slid into her coat. "Did your father take your key?" she was asking him as she locked her door. "Because you'll need it."

"I've got the key," Ludwig cut in, prompting the two to whip around to face him. "C'mon, let's just hurry," he grumbled, dropping the key into his coat pocket. Ludwig led the way to the elevator and when they all got into the elevator Ludwig was the one to press the button that would bring them to the lobby.

Sophia was silent the entire elevator ride, buttoning her coat together, looking like she was having second thoughts and Ludwig seemed too sullen to want to talk. It was a tense ride down to the lobby but when they burst out of the hotel, the tension seemed to evaporate.

"Which way is the Reichstag?" Sophia asked, looking concerned as she glanced left and right down the dark empty road.

"Uh... This way!" Gilbert darted off, turning right on the street, leaving Sophia and Ludwig to hurry after him.

"What if they took a cab?" Ludwig pointed out, jogging along Gilbert's right side. "We would never be able to get back to the hotel before they do if that's the case."

"They wouldn't have," Gilbert shook his head, continuing to jog. The trio broke apart momentarily to dodge another fellow sidewalk pedestrian. "The Reichstag's fairly close by, a taxi might even actually take longer to get there."

Sure enough, they soon found themselves at their destination, skidding to a halt at the edge of the sandwalk. Beyond the curb, on the other side of the road was the Victory Column – a tall stone column crowned by a golden statue of Victoria, the Roman goddess of victory – which was situated in Königsplatz. Beyond the golden statue was the great Reichstag building, engulfed in hot red flames.

There were many people standing at the edges of Königsplatz - random civilians, Parliament members who had just left the building, firefighters and police officers.

Gilbert was taking a step forward when Ludwig laid his hand on Gilbert's shoulder, prompting him to falter mid-step.

"Look," Ludwig pointed a finger at two figures standing near the base of Victoria. Gilbert didn't know how Ludwig could have noticed them in such dim lighting, but upon closer inspection it was certainly their fathers.

"Let's stick to the sides of the buildings," suggested Sophia uneasily, tugging on Gilbert's sleeve. "We'll be less noticeable."

Together, the children inched across the edges of the building, trying to get a better view while remaining out of sight from the two men. Not that it was very difficult; the civilians formed an arch around the Reichstag and firefighters were running here and there trying to put out the fire.

In all the chaos, no one was paying any attention to Gilbert or his companions. And eventually, they quietly joined the crowd.

A familiar man soon caught Gilbert's eye. He was a stocky-built man with dark slicked back hair, a large nose and a larger, weak chin. It was the strange man from the restaurant, Dr. Hansfstaengl. He was standing off from the rest of crowd and was currently engaged in conversation with someone who Gilbert assumed to be Chief of the Fire Department.

Suddenly cutting off the conversation, Dr. Hanfstaengl turned sharply away from the Fire Chief, taking wide strides towards Gilbert, the suddenness of his movements all alarming the albino boy. Gilbert had thought for sure Dr. Hanfstaengl was coming for him, but he was surprised when he hardly got a single glance from the imposing man who simply walked right past him.

Intrigued, Gilbert turned to watch as Dr. Hanfstaengl walked to the edge of the road where a black car slowly pulled up.

Gilbert's breath caught in his chest and he could only stare as Adolf Hitler stepped out of the car.

Gilbert wasn't the only awed by the sudden appearance of their Chancellor; Königsplatz had gone completely silent aside from the crackling of the fire, the shouts of the firefighters and the loud gushing of water in the background.

The Chancellor paid no attention to the crowd and instead pushed right past Dr. Hanfstaengl, heading straight for a burly man dressed in a brown suit. Another man with slicked dark hair and thin lips followed Hitler briskly.

The crowd remained quiet; too timid to approach the three most prominent Nazi members and Gilbert couldn't blame them. All three men radiated cold icy power and their expressions were absolutely forbidding.

Things seemed like they were going nowhere when suddenly another car pulled over, this time it was a police car. "Herr Diels!" Someone beside Gilbert cried out, as a relatively younger man with a scarred cheek stepped out of the black car. Two other men with hats and uniforms that gave away their allegiance to the Prussian Political Police flanked him.

The two subordinates broke away and headed for the crowd while their superior officer headed straight towards Hitler and his two companions. By this point, Gilbert had lost sight of the Dr. Hanfstaengl.

"I suggest you all leave the scene," said one of the policemen, issuing more of an order than any sort of friendly suggestion. "You are all standing too close to the fire and the arsonists may still be around. Your presence will complicate our search and efforts to put out the fire."

"So you're saying that this was an arson?" someone in the crowd cried out. "How do you already know this?" someone else demanded. The crowd began to buzz, accusations and questions flying everywhere.

Suddenly a shout rose above the crowd's protests, silencing them once again. "This was the work of the damned Communists and Socialists! They have betrayed Germany!" Hitler was shouting, with no regards to the panic he was beginning to stir up out from the people. He looked absolutely livid, his face was red and his voice was thick with anger. "Every Communist official should be shot where he is found! Their deputies must be hanged this very night!"

A few members of the crowd had turned pale with fear but they were the minority, the others had taken to shouting to voice their support to Hitler and his damaging accusations of the Communists and Socialists.

"Herr Diels, send out the order for every SA member in Berlin. Round up every communist pig in Berlin and bring them to justice!"

The moment the order was issued, the crowd lost it – they completely scattered, in every different sort of directions and ideas. The panic was palpable and even those who were innocent of all charges panicked as if they were truly guilty of some crime.

"We have to get out of here!" Sophia cried out, frightened. A man running by roughly shoved her and Gilbert had to grab Sophia to steady her on her feet. Their fear was no longer of being simply found out by their fathers.

Even Ludwig, whose faith in the Nazi Party was absolute, looked distressed. "She's right – let's get out of here."

Before Gilbert could ever get a word in, Ludwig and Sophia were pulling him away. Gilbert followed numbly, the panic and the voices of the people sounded indistinct and faint to him, he was unable to focus on anything else other than his own feet, which were pounding hard on the pavement as he ran after Ludwig and Sophia.

It was a wonder they were able to escape Königsplatz, although it could only be credited to pure luck, the cover of darkness and the distraction the panic caused.

When they had reached a safe distance from the Reichstag, Ludwig halted, sending Sophia and Gilbert comically crashing into his back. "Wait," the blonde boy stopped them. "I think we've gone far enough."

Huddling against the edge of the brick wall of a tall building, the trio watched in stunned silence at the scene that they had fled. With surprising swiftness, SA members had seemingly jumped into being and were already arresting some members of the crowd, including a few faces Gilbert recongnized to be members of the Parliament. Other SA members were searching the vicinity and a few were even making their way outside of Königsplatz, presumably to search the alleyways for the suspects.

"They're coming our way!" Sophia whimpered, fidgeting. "We don't have time to wait around!"

"Wait," Gilbert reached out to stop her. "Let's just walk. If we run, we'll look more suspicious."

"Reasonable enough – let's try that," agreed Ludwig as they fell into an uneasy walk back to the hotel. "I can't believe we have to be so afraid – we had nothing to do with this," he muttered unhappily, more to himself than anyone else.

Gilbert didn't know how to response to Ludwig's words. But he did know they were right to be afraid. Although the suspects of arson were those from the Communist and Socialist parties, Gilbert suspected more than a few innocent people would be round up along with them.

Eventually the trio returned to the hotel without much incident – although a few SA men had passed them without bothering to questioning them.

When they were entering the hallway, Sophia seemed unwilling to return to her hotel room alone. "Can I just stay with you until my father returns?" she half-pleaded. "I'm still too shaken up," she admitted.

"Of course," Gilbert agreed. The extra company was needed as the children waited for almost two hours until their fathers finally returned to the room.

After Mr. Edelstein left with Sophia in tow, their father turned to face them. "You three left the hotel didn't you?" he asked flatly, his grim face warned them to not even try denying the truth.

"Yes," Ludwig admitted quietly.

"We're sorry," Gilbert spoke up, too tired from the experience to bother denying anything. "I dragged Sophia with me and Ludwig only went with us to try and keep me out of trouble." His honesty surprised and touched Ludwig who gave him a weak smile.

"Well. I'm glad you didn't get into any real trouble," their father admitted. "But I'm very crossed with you, Gilbert. You could have gotten yourself, as well as your brother and Sophia, into serious trouble with the SA. I'll deal with you when we return to Hamburg."

Then abruptly, Father disappeared in the bathroom, looking just as exhausted as Gilbert felt, perhaps even more, considering he was held behind for a while under suspicion along with everyone else at the scene. And somehow Gilbert knew his father would never get around to punishing him for his disobedience.

…

February 28, 1933  
>Berlin, Germany<p>

**The Reichstag Fire Decree.**

The title of the newspaper article stood out in bold, black letters at the top of the newspaper's front page. Following the title, the article explained how the Decree was put into effect after President Paul von Hindenburg signed his signature, granting Hitler emergency powers following the Reichstag fire.

Father had already left for work, leaving Gilbert and Ludwig to enjoy room service until Mr. Edelstein went to pick them up at nine o'clock for a day of touring Berlin's sights.

While Ludwig was dressing in the bathroom, Gilbert was reading the newspaper at his leisure.

After covering the Reichstag Fire Decree, the article went on to describe the situation regarding the fire. Apparently, the SA had captured five suspects; among them, and the most likeliest was a Dutch communist named Marius van der Lubbe. The SA had also rounded upon quite a few other communists who were arrested simply for their political affiliation, the exact number of those captured the newspaper could only vaguely guess at, although the numbers were suspected to be in the thousands.

Unfortunately there wasn't much else information to be had regarding the Reichstag fire and Gilbert soon discarded the paper long before Mr. Edelstein came knocking at the door.

"Are you ready, boys?" Mr. Edelstein was smiling genially at them, standing outside the door. He was dressed in a smart dark blue suit.

Sophia stood by her father, smiling warmly, dressed in white and violet sundress and hat. "We were planning on visiting the Berlin Cathedral and Lustgarten and having lunch at a café afterwards. Does that sound alright?"

"Sounds great," Gilbert smirked, while Ludwig only nodded.

Together the party of four left the hotel and piled into a cab together. Mr. Edelstein sat in the front seat next to the driver and Gilbert was sandwiched in the backseat between Ludwig and Sophia. That didn't stop him from noticing the large number of SA members patrolling the roads however.

Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the grounds of the Berlin Cathedral. It was really a beautiful cathedral but Gilbert found it hard to be completely at ease. Even in the church there were at least two SA members walking around. They tried to hide it but Gilbert knew they were watching out for Communists.

When they left the Berlin Cathedral and walked to the Lustgarten, Gilbert was surprised to see at least _ten_ more SA members. Although when he pointed it out to Ludwig, his brother didn't share his surprise.

"What do you expect? This was always the most popular spot for those Communist and Socialist degenerates to protest," Ludwig spoke coldly. "Although they'd be stupid to come here now that everyone knows what they've done."

The tension didn't fade when they got to the café either. There was a trio of SA members sitting in the table nearby and the men were quite vocal of their opinions on the enemies of the Nazi party.

But aside from all of that, the day was relatively quiet and when the day was over, Father joined them for dinner at a new restaurant.

"It was a busy day," Father admitted during the middle of their dinner. "I was supposed to go to the Reichstag but obviously we had to relocate. The building's been completely gutted out by the fire. But at least they caught the arsonist. I got a good look at him – dirty commie pig." The last part was uttered so quietly that Gilbert had barely heard it at all. But it was the venom in his voice that was the most alarming.

…

March 1, 1933  
>Berlin, Germany<p>

Another quiet day around Berlin's hot tourist spots. The SA was slowly loosening their grip on Berlin, however their presence remained ever present.

Mr. Edelstein, Sophia, Ludwig and Gilbert visited the Charlottenburg Palace and its gardens, spending their whole day there until late noon when they left to meet up with Mr. Beilschmidt for dinner at another five-star restaurant.

…

March 2, 1933  
>Berlin, Germany<p>

Father finally joined them for a day of sightseeing in Berlin. They had to rewrite their plans however, as the main event of the day was originally supposed to be the Reichstag building.

After a quick breakfast at a café right in the hotel, they hailed a cab and visited the Berlin Zoological Garden. Gilbert enjoyed the zoo a lot more than he would have originally thought – even Father seemed to relax.

They were supposed to visit the Gendarmenmarkt afterwards, but it was unanimously decided that they would spend the entire day at the zoo.

It was a wonderful, light-hearted experience for all the children. Back at Hamburg, there had been one zoo – Tierpark Hagenbeck. However it had been closed for two years and when it reopened it had long lost its former glory.

At the Berlin Zoological Garden, they hardly had time to see all of the exhibits. As well as being able to claim the title of Germany's oldest zoo, this zoo boasted a collection of more than three thousand animals.

Among their most notable animals was a pride of lions, a pack of hyenas, a number of tigers, a herd of hippos, a troop of baboons and a band of African gorillas. However Gilbert's favorite animal was the large Asian black eagle – he was particularly sorry to say goodbye to it at the end of the day.

At dinner, they returned to the restaurant they had dined at the first night. This time Gilbert did not see Dr. Ernst Hanfstaengl however.

"A toast," Mr. Edelstein suddenly raised his glass near the end of the dinner. "To my good friend, Mr. Beilschmidt and his two brilliant sons. You certainly haven't changed a bit since the war, old friend. When I return to Austria, your companionship will be what I miss most about Germany. To our friendship."

Laughing, the five of them clinked glasses – although the children's glasses were filled with a grape juice instead of champagne, much to Gilbert's disappointment. However when Mr. Edelstein and Gilbert's father began to look tipsy after one and a half bottles of bubbly champagne, Gilbert took advantage of that by stealing a small amount of champagne.

Taking a slow sip, Gilbert relished the sickly sweet taste and bubbly fizz. The champagne was certainly much sweeter than what he expected although Gilbert supposed it was because he had expected it to taste something akin to beer – although Gilbert hadn't actually had beer before either.

Noticing a dirty look from Ludwig, Gilbert deftly stole the bottle of champagne again when neither of the men were watching and quickly poured Ludwig some champagne into Ludwig's glass. Ludwig's expression quickly changed to a rare grin and the two boys clinked their glasses together, snickering.

It was a really bittersweet moment as the party walked back to the hotel. Mr. Edelstein was telling humorous stories from his youth and his days with Father during the Great War, Father's smiles came easily and Sophia and even Ludwig had linked arms with Gilbert on the walk back.

When Gilbert fell back onto the bed that night, his mind distantly recalled the taste of the bubbly champagne, Father's rare smiling face and the sound of Sophia's and Ludwig's laughter just before he slipped into sleep.

…

March 3, 1933  
>Berlin, Germany<p>

That morning, they had moved around the room in a hurry. Everyone had been so tired when they returned to the hotel that neither of the families had bothered to start packing. The train left at ten, which left the Beilschmidt family only an hour to pack.

At nine-thirty, they had finished packing and had met up with the Edelsteins in the hotel lobby.

"What time do you board?" Gilbert was asking Sophia as they stood outside the hotel on the sidewalk with their luggage while they waited together for their cabs.

"Ten-thirty," replied Sophia. She smiled softly, "I'm not really looking forward to the long train ride back to Vienna."

They stood closely, watching as Father, Mr. Edelstein and Ludwig stood at the edge of the sidewalk and spoke among themselves.

As the Beilschmidt's cab pulled up along the sidewalk and Gilbert picked up his luggage by the handle, Sophia reached out to gently touch his shoulder. "Will you write to me, Gilbert?"

Gazing at Sophia silently for a few seconds, Gilbert finally smirked. "Of course. But you have to promise to write back."

"Of course," Sophia beamed. "Good-bye. I'll write a letter to you as soon I return to Vienna," she waved farewell to Gilbert as he entered the cab. They continued to wave to each other until the cab turned a corner and they could no longer see one another.

When the three Beilschmidt males arrived at the station, Gilbert felt a strong rush of déjà vu. Much like their train ride _to_ Berlin, Father had stopped briefly at a newspaper stand to buy the daily paper before boarding with exactly two minutes to spare just as before.

After the train pulled into motion, Ludwig and Gilbert immediately left together for the buffet car and Father had asked for a cup of black coffee and a plate of sausages and eggs.

When they returned to their car, the three of them settled into a quiet breakfast, the silence occasionally interrupted by one of Father's remarks regarding the newspaper.

"… An 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit the coast off of Honshu, Japan. Estimated over three thousand dead in the resulting tsunami… That's unfortunate. Although they had just captured Chengde, the capital of China's Jehol Province today…"

It was another few minutes before he spoke up again. "Ernst Thälmann was arrested…" Suddenly their father looked up from the paper, staring at the two boys. "Do you know who that is?" No doubt he was testing their political knowledge.

"Yes, Father," replied Ludwig dutifully. "He was the Communist representative running for president last year wasn't he?"

"Yes and he was running for Parliament this year too" Father looked mildly cheerful after reading that piece of information.

Although Gilbert wasn't a communist by any mean, he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable by the pleasure both his father and brother took in the arrest of Ernst Thälmann, but Gilbert smiled at them anyways.

The rest of the train ride was drearily uneventful and Gilbert simply stared out a window while Ludwig read his book and Father went through his other papers from work.

When they finally arrived at the train station in Hamburg, they had to take another cab to return home. When Gilbert entered through the doors of their home, he was felt a sense of relief despite his time in Berlin being very enjoyable for the most part.

After greeting his mother and getting a kiss on his forehead, Gilbert ran into his room and locked the door. He spent a good amount of time, simply laying on the bed and relaxing until he was called down to dinner.

"Gilbert! It's time for dinner!"

When Gilbert went down the stairs and entered the dining room, he saw that Ludwig and his father were already seated at the dining table. His mother was still setting out the dishes on the table.

"Oh, by the way, Gilbert – a postcard came for you this morning. It came from Berlin," his mother informed him. "I left it on the table in the sitting room. How did you make a friend so quickly, Gilbert?" His mother smiled, clearly pleased with her son's social skills.

"I met this boy named Feliks on the train to Berlin," Gilbert was smirking as he sat down at the dinner table. "We hit it off, but he was pretty shy at first. Anyways he was born in Poland, and he lived in Bremerhaven after his parents died, but now he's moving to live with his grandparents in Berlin. Apparently they're pretty well-off."

"Well I'm glad you made a friend," his mother beamed, sitting down at the table. "Now," she looked to all of them. "Tell me all about your time in Berlin…"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>I plan on updating again soon, probably around Thanksgiving although our exams are coming up right before them. So, yeah. By the way, mini-spoiler alert: you're going learn something big about a main character in the next chapter~

Love it if you'd leave a review c:


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** Is the story a little slow? I hope that if you think that, you'll soon change your mind because I'm starting to move things along faster now.  
>This chapter also involves three minor OCs. I'll admit, I have a strong dislike for OCs, so I can assure you that they're only here to help with the plot and you'll probably never see them again except in maybe rare mentions or flashbacks.<br>Btw – Ciotka just means aunt and Wujek means uncle in Polish.

* * *

><p>February 20, 1933<br>Bremerhaven, Germany

Standing deathly still at the glass windowpane, a young blonde boy was staring stiffly down through the glass and onto the grey stone street as a short heavy-built woman with dark blonde hair walked out onto the stone streets below. Feliks watched in tense silence as she walked down the sidewalk, turning left on the corner in the direction of the market.

Short blonde hair whipped softly against his pale cheeks as his neck turned sharply towards the antique grandfather's clock on the other side of the sitting room. Four-o-clock.

Ciotka went shopping at the market square every Tuesday at exactly four-o-clock and she always returned exactly an hour later each week without fail. He knew this from watching the family's schedule for weeks.

Walking away from the window quietly across a carpeted green floor, he slowly walked into an empty wide hallway, coming to a stop at a door at the end. Cautiously, he slipped into the room, leaving the wooden oak door open a crack, in case a quick escape was needed.

The room's wallpaper was a soft green; the sheets of the bed and the carpet were green as well, matching the rest of the house's color scheme. A tall, white wooden bookshelf stood against one side of the room, however it was completely bare of books and instead housed various random small knickknacks. A tall mirror stood beside the bookshelf, posters of American and European actresses and actors sitting on the space above the mirror. It was a nice room, much larger and more decorated than his own room, located in the attic. However he wasn't here to admire his cousin's room.

Walking over to the other side of the mossy-green bed, Feliks spotted a large brown box lying just out from the under the bed. Trembling, Feliks slowly glanced over his shoulder before crouching down on the carpeted floor.

Delicately, he opened the lid of the box, revealing layers of green, blue and purple fabrics. Gently pulling the dresses on the top layers out of the box and laying them carefully beside the box, he reached for the bottom of the box, pulling out the simple salmon pink dress he had been looking for.

"She won't miss this," Feliks whispered out loud uneasily, clutching tightly at the cool fabric. His cousin, Gertrude had an astonishing number of dresses, some she had only ever wore once. She had long outgrown this pink dress anyway, he knew, having heard last night that her mother was forcing her to give her dresses to her younger cousins – on her mother's side of course. Feliks had no other cousins besides Gertrude.

Trying to keep his nerve, he thought to himself: _I'm just taking this dress, just this one._ Laying the pink salmon dress on the bedside, he carefully retrieved the other dresses and gently placed them back in the box. Feliks hoped Gertrude wouldn't open the box and check her dresses, although he suspected that, based on her upset refusals before finally caving into her mother's demands, she would simply give the box to her cousins as quickly as possible, too angry to want to dwell on her dresses.

Giddy anticipation bubbling in his chest as most of his fear disappeared at his reasoning; Feliks clutched the pink dress to his chest as he quietly left the room with haste. Walking out into the hallway, he pulled on a rope in the back of the hallway, revealing a set of ladders that led to his room in the attic.

Still clutching the dress to his chest, Feliks carefully climbed up the ladder, using only his right hand to grip at the rungs of the ladder. Breathing heavier than before, Feliks pulled the ladder back up into the attic, sealing the entrance.

With a new swagger to his step, Feliks quickly peeled off his clothing, throwing them carelessly onto his bed. In stark contrast, he took great care as he slipped the salmon pink dress on. Avoiding the window in the attic (they had nosy neighbors next door), he swayed in front of his small mirror, admiring the reflection that greeted him.

_This _was how it was supposed to be. He just knew it. But at the same time, Feliks knew that this was something he would have to keep a secret to himself. But for a moment he was completely lost in his fantasies, a dreamy smile appearing on his face and a pink flushness to his cheeks.

The moment ended abruptly however when a shrill voice suddenly cut in. "I knew it! Dear Lord, what are you doing?!"

Spinning around on his heel, Feliks stared in wide-eyed horror as Gertrude stared back at him from the entrance. She was not a particularly attractive girl, who heavily resembled her mother with her round face, heavy-built body and thick eyebrows, which framed beady small brown eyes.

With great dread, Feliks realized he must have been so distracted that he didn't even hear her pulling the ladder down. "Why are you home?" Feliks gasped, the only words he could get out in his shock.

"I came to get my box of dresses but I knew you had gotten in there when I noticed that the dresses had been moved around. I checked the box and I realized you stole one of them. Have you been sneaking my clothes this whole time?" Gertrude glared at him coldly with clear disgust in her brown eyes.

"I'm sorry!" Feliks bit back a sob, terrified now. Gertrude had always resented the fact that her cousin was living with them and despite her family's wealth, she was very conscious whenever any bit of money went towards Feliks. She would spare him no mercy. Feliks knew that but he begged anyways. "Please don't tell your parents! Your father will throw me out!"

He knew his uncle wouldn't feel much sympathy for him when he heard this story. Months ago, Feliks had made a tentative remark regarding the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee, a prominent LGBT (lesbians, gay, bisexual and transgender) group. Wujek had immediately shut the conversation down, getting into a rant about the "sinfulness" of the group. Feliks had gotten the hint immediately.

Gertrude _smirked_ at him, a taunt dancing in her plain brown eyes. "You should have thought about that before you decided to steal from me."

She disappeared down the ladders, her footsteps fading away as Feliks stared at empty space numbly, tears slowly welling up in his wide green eyes.

…

April 11, 1933  
>Hamburg, Germany<p>

Gilbert and Elizabeta were running down together the crowded streets of Hamburg. They were going to the cinema together to see King Kong, the new American film that had been released worldwide two days earlier. All their friends who had seen it had only good things to say, so Gilbert had convinced Elizabeta to go see it with him.

Unfortunately in their excitement neither had anticipated the pedestrian traffic and they were at risk of arriving at the screening late.

"I hope these people aren't all here to see King Kong," muttered Elizabeta with a disdainful look at a passerby who had roughly bumped into her and continued on his way without apologizing. After being steadied by Gilbert, she gripped tightly onto the sleeve of Gilbert's maroon sweater vest, balling the fabric up in a closed fist. "One of my friends who went to the worldwide release premiere told me that when she was standing in line, it had stretched all the way past the _street corner_."

"I really doubt they're all here just to go see a _film_ at the cinema – this side of town has all the best shops, restaurants and even the city park. Calm yourself, woman," Gilbert smirked back at Elizabeta.

After shooting Gilbert a brief dirty look, Elizabeta paused. Seconds later, a thoughtful expression crossed her face, even as scorn entered her voice. "But… when you think about it though, it's funny how so many people could afford to buy a ticket when just a few months ago, the unemployment rate was over 30%."

"Cheer up," Gilbert's light eyebrows furrowed at Elizabeta. She was in a particularly foul mood and had been so for the past few days. "If people can afford to buy a movie ticket, then that's a good thing right?"

Elizabeta didn't seem very convinced however, prompting Gilbert to sigh heavily. "If you can't be glad for that, at least try to be cheerful for me. You're going to ruin the entire movie for me, you know."

Elizabeta blinked, looking torn between her convictions and keeping their visit to the cinema a light occasion but eventually she seemed to relax, shoulders slumping and her tensed expression fading. Elizabeta exhaled quietly, a small crooked smile finally appearing. "Alright, I'll try," she promised. "Let's just go buy our tickets," she said just as they were walking up to the cinema's entrance.

"Two tickets for King Kong," Gilbert told the ticket seller, slipping a hand into his pocket and handing his money to the ticket seller. "Thanks." He took the two tickets quickly and took hold of Elizabeta's sleeve, pulling her after him through the cinema doors.

"You didn't have to pay for my ticket," protested Elizabeta as they were walking down the red hall. She looked uncomfortable; Gilbert knew very well that she was the kind to feel obligated to pay back _every _debt, no matter how little.

"I _wanted _to," he assured her. "The men pay right?" He glanced sideways at her, smirking at her uncomfortable grimace.

"Only on dates," she replied immediately. Adding quickly. "This isn't a date. You're not a man either."

"Another cold rejection from the ice queen," commented Gilbert lightly. He had meant as a joke and was surprised when Elizabeta's expression turned to one of incredulity. "I was joking."

"I am not cold," Elizabeta informed him defensively as Gilbert handed their tickets to another employee who was sitting outside the entrance of the screen room for King Kong.

"Enjoy your movie," the ticket checker droned flatly.

"I said I was joking," reminded Gilbert, pale blonde eyebrows lifting as they entered through the doors. "Although to be fair, we haven't seen each other outside of school forever. You've been blowing me off for almost three weeks now. What's up with that?" Gilbert was really trying not to, but now he was starting to vent out the frustration he had felt earlier when he realized that Elizabeta was trying to avoid him. Elizabeta had been his closest friend since they were still drooling and now it looked like they were starting to grow distant and Gilbert couldn't have that.

Elizabeta blinked, _'You noticed?' _She turned sheepish under his fixed gaze. "I'm sorry," Elizabeta said finally, lips pursed. They found two seats together near the center of the seats in the screen room as she slowly got her words out. "It's just that… I've been really stressed lately – about a lot of things. I'll explain after the movie, alright?"

"Elizabeta…"

"Please? You'll have to be satisfied with my promise for now. This isn't something I can just tell you on the spot."

"Fine…"

"Thank you." Elizabeta looked relieved, sinking back into her cushioned-seat. She didn't glance at Gilbert again, instead focusing her gaze on the black screen, just as the lights of the screen room dimmed and the screen turned stark white.

…

Approximately an hour and forty minutes later, Gilbert and Elizabeta were leaving the cinema. Both were smiling and laughing, the film had distracted both of them from their earlier conversation.

"It's getting late," noted Elizabeta as they walked further away from the cinema. The sky had turned in to a mix of soft peach-pink and indigo.

"It's not _that _late," Gilbert shook his head. "Do you want to maybe go to a café? We could get something to eat. I'll even pay."

"You've been very generous today," noted Elizabeta, mouth twitching in a sardonic smile. "I heard your father's doing well."

"Yeah, he is," confirmed Gilbert. "He got a pay raise and a promotion at work last week." He looked down at his feet as he shuffled along the sidewalk, vaguely uncomfortable. "Do you still hate my father?"

Elizabeta frowned, sharing Gilbert's same discomfort. "Yes," she admitted frankly. "But I don't hate you. I just don't like how he's so devoted to the Nazi regime. Gilbert, I'm worried you'll just turn out like him."

"No I won't," Gilbert reassured her earnestly, red eyes bright. "I can think for myself, you know."

"If you say so." Elizabeta didn't seem very convinced. Elizabeta was Gilbert's closest friend and advisor and had been subjected to many of Gilbert's rants about his father's lack of interest in him in the past. She knew just how much weight his father's words carried.

Frowning dejectedly, Gilbert noticed a quiet café across the street. "Hey," he tugged on her sleeve. "Let's go in there."

"I don't know," Elizabeta hesitated. "It's getting late…"

"C'mon," Gilbert grinned, sensing her indecision. He tugged on her sleeve again. "If you're scared of walking home alone, I'll escort you to your house."

"I'm not scared of that," Elizabeta frowned, clearly bothered by his accusation. She pursed her lips. "Fine, let's make it quick though. My parents will be upset if I miss dinner."

"Awesome," Gilbert smirked, pulling her by her sleeve as they crossed the road together. "It'll be quick, I promise."

Pulling the door open for Elizabeta, Gilbert followed after she had entered, the strong inviting fragrance of hot chocolate and baked pastries greeting them immediately as they entered the shop.

"Hallo!" A pretty blonde girl beamed at them from behind a shiny white counter. Her voice carried the light hint of a Belgian accent. "How are you?" she inquired politely. "It's a bit late isn't it? Where did you two come from?" Her nametag read Emmeline but immediately underneath, in small, slanted print, it read: Emma. Gilbert thought he recognized her as one of the older student at the secondary school he attended with Elizabeta.

"Hallo," Gilbert and Elizabeta greeted her together, charmed by her friendly demeanor. "We're good, thank you," answered Gilbert as they walked up to the counter together. "We actually came from the cinema."

"The cinema?" she echoed, smiling. "Let me guess – you went to see King Kong together, didn't you? I went with my two brothers on opening night. What did you think of the film?"

"It was very good," replied Elizabeta, smiling. "It was very exciting to watch. I almost jumped out of my seat more than once."

"Ooh, what did you think of that actor, Bruce Cabot?" the counter girl's voice had taken on a mischievous tone, seeming to have forgotten that there was a boy within earshot. "Isn't he a looker?"

"He was very handsome," admitted Elizabeta, a rare flush of pink appearing on her cheeks.

As much as Gilbert enjoyed watching Elizabeta get flustered, he didn't appreciate listening to their gossip and was worried if he didn't intervene now, it would just drag on and cleared his throat as politely as he could. _"Ahem."_

"_Oh_," the Belgian girl had turned back to Gilbert, her face taking on a more catty appearance as her green eyes narrowed speculatively and her mouth curved into a catty smile. "Is your boyfriend getting jealous?"

"What?!" sputtered Gilbert, taken aback by her sudden statement.

"Oh? Is the idea of dating me so terrible?" Elizabeta glanced back at Gilbert, narrowing her eyes playfully at him.

Trying to regain his composure, Gilbert scanned Elizabeta's playful, smirking face, a small flare of nostalgia warming him. Nowadays it was rare to see her like this. "Ptff, it's because I _already _have a girlfriend."

"You know you're lying," crowed Elizabeta. "You don't have a girlfriend, Gilbert."

"Oh yeah? What about that Austrian girl?" retorted Gilbert, smirking good-naturedly.

"At _best_ you're pen pals," Elizabeta shot back. "_If _she's even real."

"No way, you should have seen us when we were in Berlin together. She was way into me," defended Gilbert, smirking.

"Yeah right, Gilbert," Elizabeta shook her head, her head falling down gently as she laughed lightly under her breath.

"Ptff, who's getting jealous now?" retorted Gilbert triumphantly.

"You two would make a really cute couple," remarked the counter-girl, beaming.

"We're just friends…" protested Elizabeta.

"Right. Just friends," agreed Gilbert.

"Well in that case, you should give me your number," the counter-girl teased, winking.

"Are you serious?" Gilbert flirted back. "If you are, you should pull out a pen and paper."

"Why, don't we just order now," cut in Elizabeta, smiling faintly.

"Yes of course." The Belgian girl smiled apologetically, blushing faintly. "What can I get for you?"

"Two hot chocolates," replied Gilbert, glancing at Elizabeta for confirmation. He scanned the board on the wall behind the counter, getting out the appropriate amount of money and laying it on the counter.

"You don't have to pay again," Elizabeta protested again.

"Oh, this time there's a catch," smirked Gilbert. "This is just to guarantee that you won't back out on your promise to tell me why you've been avoiding me."

"You crook," Elizabeta grinned.

"Here you go," the Belgian girl placed two paper cups of hot chocolate on the counter. "We're closing soon, but you can still stay and sit at one of our tables if you'd like."

"It's fine," Elizabeta picked up her cup. "We're leaving anyways, it's getting dark." Glancing at Gilbert, she prodded him teasingly, "C'mon, let's go."

"You're still telling me, right?" Gilbert asked her, following behind.

"Have a good evening!" the Belgian girl called out after them as they disappeared out the café.

Out in the chilled air, Gilbert and Elizabeta were both glad to have a hot cup of hot chocolate in their hands. For a few minutes, they walked together in silence, simply taking sips from their drinks. Elizabeta seemed to have immediately sobered as they left the café.

"Now will you tell me?" Gilbert asked, finally breaking the silence between them.

Elizabeta took a deep inhale before she glanced at Gilbert out of the corner of her eye, answering abruptly: "I'm a Jew."

"…What?" Gilbert faltered mid-step. It was lucky that Gilbert had a tight grip on his drink; otherwise it would have immediately ended up on the sidewalk. "But – you go to church. You're Hungarian. You're _not_ a Jew."

Gilbert must have looked disapproving because Elizabeta seemed to shrink back. "Legally I am. You only need three Jewish grandparents to be considered Jewish. My father's Roman Catholic and my mother was Jewish when they met, but she converted for him. But obviously the Nazi party doesn't care about that." Her voice was strong, thick with bitterness and her words spat out with hatred. "I didn't tell you earlier because I didn't know how you would react," she confessed, scanning Gilbert's face searchingly. "Do you… hate me now?"

A long pause occurred. Elizabeta's expression slowly began to crumple as she stared at Gilbert's baffled, frozen face. "You do – don't you?"

Finally he could respond, pushed into action by Elizabeta's suddenly drawn conclusion. "No! No. No, of course not," Gilbert promised her earnestly. "I don't hate you. My family might not… like them very much but I'm not that way. I promise, Elizabeta, I could never hate you."

"But do you hate other Jews? Jews that aren't _me_?" Elizabeta cautiously approached.

"No, I don't," promised Gilbert with great solemnness. Tentatively, he reached for Elizabeta's free hand, enclosing it in his own. He had hoped to convey his honesty to her through the physical contact. "My family may uphold the Nazi ideology but I promise you, I _never_ brought into all of that superiority nonsense."

For a moment, the two young teenagers simply stared at each, exhaling small clouds of breath in the chilly night air. Gilbert's expression was one of grim dour while Elizabeta's was one of careful searching and faint hope.

"All right," Elizabeta finally relaxed, accepting his promise, looking appeased with Gilbert's declaration. "I'm glad that you never brought into it. I was really worried that you would for the longest time."

Gilbert gave her a faint smile, knowing that this wasn't the time to joke about the foolishness of her fears although he personally thought it was foolish that Elizabeta had doubted him despite knowing him for so long.

"_Anyways_… It's really late now," remarked Elizabeta, still somewhat tentatively. "If you're dead-set on escorting me to my house then we'll have to hurry, I would have t blame myself if you got mugged on your way home." She began walking again, at a faster pace.

Gilbert simply chuckled quietly even as he had to run for a brief moment to catch up to Elizabeta. He was simply content that they had gotten over this hurdle in their friendship.

…

February 26, 1933  
>Bremerhaven, Germany<p>

It was late at night when Feliks left his home of three years in Bremerhaven. He wouldn't miss it.

Living with his relatives had been a stressful time for Feliks. He had never gotten along with his cousin from the start, they were just too different and she was too conceited and selfish. His aunt resented the idea of taking him into their home, although she did make an effort to hide her disapproval of him – just not well enough. His uncle was aloof and too drastically different from Feliks' mother – his sister – so Feliks had made no effort to grow close to his uncle.

Feliks had felt like a burden the entire time he had lived with them, made to feel grateful for everything he was given. He had known from the start that he couldn't stay there for long, somehow faith would step in.

And now, he was walking briskly down the dark street lit only by the dim streetlights with his uncle. They had left the house that night, after Feliks had his last dinner with their family and his aunt and cousin had gone to bed.

It had been a week since Gertrude caught him in the attic and he would have liked to leave much earlier but it took time to arrange his new situation with his grandparents in Berlin and because the train would arrive and leave past midnight, his uncle had insisted that he would take Feliks to the station himself after he returned home from his job at his business of fish.

It had been a stressful week. The first night was the worst of all though; his cousin, Gertrude had decided to wait until dinner to spring the news on her parents. But before that, she took pleasure in shoot Feliks daring, threatening glances, which he had returned with silent pleads for her silence. In retrospect, he realized his attempts to garner her sympathy had only amused her and he should have never given her the satisfaction of seeing him grovel in the first place.

During the middle of dinner, when his uncle had been complaining about a thieving employee whom he had fired that afternoon, Gertrude had suddenly interrupted him mid-sentence, crying out:

"_Father, this afternoon Feliks went into my room and stole my pink dress. But that wasn't the worst part, I went into the attic after him and I found him wearing it and dancing in front of his mirror!"_

His uncle had promptly choked on his food while his aunt could only stare at Feliks through large horrified eyes as if he was some beast instead of her nephew. His uncle immediately demanded that he confirm whether his cousin's accusations were true or false.

Despite Feliks' strong fear of being found out, he also couldn't lie to his uncle. Was it out of fear that his uncle would see through his lies and punish him twice fold or was it just a foolish sense of honor? Feliks still didn't know now.

The rest of his remaining days at the house weren't much better but at least, Feliks could avoid his relatives. However he couldn't avoid dinner and throughout those times, dinner had remained a quiet and stiff affair.

"This is where I'll leave you on your own," his uncle announced as they reached the station, jolting him out of his thoughts. "Good luck." His uncle, a short Polish man with balding blonde hair, turned to walk away but stopped. Tersely, his uncle glanced over his shoulder and said, "I didn't tell your grandparents why I was sending you away to live with them. I've given you have a chance to redeem yourself from your _sins_. Use it." With a last decisive glance at Feliks, his uncle had turned and walked away, sparing no further glances to him.

Watching as his wujek walked away out of his life, Feliks felt a pang of sharp sadness stinging his heart. Although he had never known his uncle very well and his uncle hadn't been very understanding when the truth got out, it still hurt him: the way things turned out. Feliks wished he might have gotten close to his uncle when he had the chance. But feeling regretful never solved anything so Feliks eventually turned away and entered the train station.

Feliks sat on a wooden bench in the sparsely filled station for hours, staring blankly at the large ticking clock attached to the wall across his seat as he waited for his train to arrive. Feliks was bored to near tears and was feeling very fatigued however he didn't dare sleep out of paranoia of missing his train.

When it did eventually arrive, Feliks was grateful beyond relief and immediately after packing away his suitcase; he sank into a red cushioned seat in an empty booth and promptly fell asleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>I'd love to hear if anyone had any theories on what become of the other characters, especially Elizabeta now that you know what you know from reading this chapter.  
>P.S. just in case you didn't notice - Emma was Belgium. I was searching for canon characters to add in the story - any suggestions?<br>Love it you'd leave a review.


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